Reflection Paper

It is just a coincidence that I choosing this course, Computer Assisted Language Learning, and I had no special ideas about what can I learn. Before the class, I think that learning English could only use by book or CD. On Internet I just use Google translate. I do not know learning English can use computer. Within a semester, I had learned Blogger, Bilingual Dictionaries, Monolingual dictionaries, Google Syntax, Monolingual online concordancers, Bilingual online concordancers, YouTube, TED, My ET, and MIT OpenCourseware. All of I had learned, CANDLE- National E-Learning Project, TED and NTU Open Course learning system have been of great assistance in learning English for me.

When you do not know how to translate an English sentence with correct constructions, you can use Bilingual online concordancers to search. CANDLE- National E-Learning Project introduced into class provides me a good platform. With collection of texts, it provides Chinese translations and English translations. Let me could use correct English constructions to write sentence. And also can help me to know the word that I do not know. All of the assignments, I all use CANDLE- National E-Learning Project to write. It helps me a lot.

And then, TED provides many speeches let me to watch for free. Including contemporary society, Human Rights, ethical philosophies, etc. I can choose which speech’s type I like. And it provides a wide variety of languages. So at first time I can choose English characters to know what are speaker says. At second time, I can choose Chinese characters to know what the content of speeches. By speech after speech, I can practice my English listening, and adapt different accent. So I think TED is very helpful in English listening.

Last, I am interesting in NTU Open Course learning system. It is a platform that I can view its website in free time and do not limit by a place. Through it I can study the courses by videos which National Taiwan University’s course for free. And it also provides on-campus speeches on video for free. So I do not entered National Taiwan University I can study their courses and listen their speeches.

I have learned a great deal from the entire semester, and it has prompted me to think about how to use computer to learn English. Thank you teacher teach me so many ways to learn English. All of them are very helpful for me.

Assignment 10 - OpenCourseWare

Before the class, I never heard about opencourseware. I think it is useful for me. It provides a free platform for me to study Harvard course, MIT course, etc. There have many different courses can let me choose. I can choose Art, Cooking, Nutrition,etc. Full of English teaching can help me to improve my English listening. And let me adapt to different accepts.

Assignment 6 - Ted talk

Tital: The danger of silence
Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/clint_smith_the_danger_of_silence
Speaker: Clint Smith

"We spend so much time listening to the things people are saying that we rarely pay attention to the things they don't," says poet and teacher Clint Smith. A short, powerful piece from the heart, about finding the courage to speak up against ignorance and injustice.

Assignment 5 - Share myself experiences

Last year my grandmother perished suddenly. It was shock and sadden for me. I could hardly accept the fact that her had left me. I remembered that I planed to chat with her next week. Because we didn't have much chat change when I grown up. But plans never keep up with changes. An accident let her left. Since then, I know I have to concern about my family and express my love and gratitude to their. Don't let myself regret. 

Assignment 4 - Steve Jobs’ talk

Steve Job’s 2005 Stanford Commencement

1. I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting. 

2. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. 

3. Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart.Even when it leads you off the well worn path, and that will make all the difference. (This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

4. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

5. If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.

6. Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

7. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.

8. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

9. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Assignment 3

running short on time: to run short on time

wrap up: finish something/dismiss/stop/bring it to the end

outside the scope: not discussing/focus outside of the kernel ,main issues

agenda: topic about talk

get off on a tangent: get out on a tangent

to get back on track: return what you can doing

unresolved: finish/not yet

up in the air: still not decide/not conclude in the agreement/unsolved/undetermined

differ: different something

to forge ahead: to move foreword/go on its good process/take a leading advantage

adjustments: change/modification

take it to a vote: should be vote on it

premature: grow;deliver it too early/un-fully cultivate/form



I seldom use English learning websites to improve my English. But I think Podcast is a good resource. The host use easy sentences to explain difficult vocabularies. Let me to understand. And it also to improve my English listening.

Assignment 2

1. commuter  n.
- someone who regularly travels between work and home
The train was packed with commuters.


2. preferable  adj.
- more attractive or more suitable
Anything was preferable to the tense atmosphere at home.


3. reinforces  v.
- if something reinforces an idea or opinion, it provides more proof or support for it and makes it seem true
The final technical report into the accident reinforces the findings of initial investigations.


4. swap  v.
- to give something and be given something else instead
We swapped addresses with the people we met on holiday.


5. correspondingly  adj.
- similar, or resulting from something else
As the course becomes more difficult, there's usually a corresponding drop in attendance.




Oxford Advanced American Dictionary (American English), I think it's good for me, because it can help me to improve my English's vocabulary. And it is good for its example sentences, and the word in the sentences which is more difficult has a link, so I can save the time to research the vocabulary that I don't know. It is very convenience. And then the surface is very simple and clear that I feel comfortable.